


Pine Needles & Bergamot

by ninian



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Edelclaude Week (Fire Emblem), Eventual Romance, F/M, Flowers, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gift Giving, POV Alternating, Post-Time Skip, Pre-Time Skip, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:54:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25143469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninian/pseuds/ninian
Summary: This is the story of how a boy and a girl fell in love, and maybe changed the world along the way.day 1: secrets / scarsday 2: flowers / windday 3: change / adrestiaday 4: work / almyraday 5: trust / dreamsday 6: touch / flirtingday 7: dawn / free day
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 22
Kudos: 42





	1. Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> edelclaude week time...
> 
> as of the time writing this i currently have like 3 prompts done! so i'm slightly ahead of schedule, but i'll try and keep up and hopefully don't... fall off schedule LMAO.
> 
> hi, it's been a while since i've published anything. all i have are wips.

**IMPERIAL YEAR, 1180**

Out of everyone in the monastery, Edelgard was the toughest person to crack for Claude.

From what Claude learned by observing the world around him, everyone wore a mask. People hide their true selves, only showing what people want to see. He does it and so does everyone else, so he's not _hypocritical_ for calling it out. But every mask also had a crack in it, unsurprisingly. He’s gotten good at seeing through everyone’s masks, seeing the little cracks and helping him peer inside to see someone’s true face.

Dimitri’s mask was slowly chipping away as time went on, and Claude could see the remnants of a beast wanting to lunge out - a product of the world Dimitri lived in, no doubt. The Kingdom always had an issue with not wanting to appear feminine, _weak_. As nice as Dimitri could be, Claude knew that a sheltered prince like himself, who only knew of the kingdom and the society he grew up in, was rooted in such beliefs even if he tried to doubt it.

Even dear ol’ Teach, for being as emotionless as a cool rock sitting on the curb of one of the many dirt paths they walked along for battle, had certain ticks about them that cued Claude in on how they were feeling. He could tell when something made them happy by how their eyebrow curved upwards, or when they felt frustrated and sad when their brow furrowed. Teach wasn’t emotionless, not by a long shot, but to anyone who hadn’t spent any time with them, it may appear that way.

But Edelgard? Oh, Edelgard’s mask was as tight as his own. Not a single crack laid on its surface - just like his. She wasn’t going to let anyone slam a hammer and break her mask.

Claude wouldn’t do that. Not at all.

No, he was going to chip at it, just a little bit.

“You know, princess,” starts Claude as he trots up next to the heir emperor with a smile, “I always see you slipping away into the night.”

“Observant of you,” hums Edelgard in acknowledgement. “And I am to assume you’re here to bother me about where I am going?”

“Maybe a little bit.” The male shrugs his shoulders, their footsteps along the stoney pathway in sync and echoing into the wind. “I just think it’s interesting you’re the only person here I can’t seem to crack. Everyone else has cracks in their masks, but… Not you. I just can’t figure you out, Edelgard.”

Edelgard says nothing, at first. She doesn’t seem to shrug him off or try and tell him off like many people would try and do. She allows him to walk at her side, hands behind her back as she stands tall and proper - and Claude still can’t seem to know what she’s thinking. She's pretty good at this game she plays. It almost frustrates Claude _how_ good she is. If only he could see just a little chip in her mask to peel off.

“Could the same not be said about you?” The girl’s voice finally breaks through the silence, sharp and pointed as ever. “Out of everyone here, I know least about you. Not because you’re an outsider, either, because even I know Petra and Dedue more than you.”

“Oh?” Claude hums, with him being the one amused now. “And why is that, Edelgard?” 

She stops in her tracks and turns towards him, fully, now.

“Because,” begins Edelgard with a smile in her voice, “you _also_ refuse to let people see who you are.”

Ah, there it was.

He can’t say she’s wrong. Far from wrong, actually. It just surprised him that she seemed to have been paying that much attention to him. So, she had been watching him like he had been watching her.

( the thought is exciting, to him. he tries to ignore the excitement bubbling in his stomach. )

“So, we both seem to be hiding secrets.” The Golden Deer’s leader hums once more. “What a predicament this is, huh?”

“Quite so.”

“How about we make a game out of it?”

Edelgard raises her brow at his words. He sees her study him, trying to figure out what the smile on his face means. When she can’t find an answer, she gives a small grunt of affirmation, a sign to let him continue on with whatever scheme he’s brewing in that head of his. She seems to be humoring him, just a little bit. Maybe she's curious as to what he's scheming, because like him she's also bound to such curiousity.

“Let’s try and find out each other’s secrets.”

That gives him an expression he was looking for; a quick wave of shock washes over Edelgard’s face that’s quickly masked with an interested look. He can tell she’s deciding between the pros and the cons of this little scheme. He’s honestly expecting her to deny his request and tell him he’s being foolish, or something like that.

“Very well.”

\-- _Did he hear that right?_ Did she just _agree_ to his idea? Now it’s Claude’s turn to have a quick wave of shock wash over his face. Before she could dwell on it, a Cheshire-like grin curls onto his face as verdant hues watch her with amusement - the shock easily masked.

“What a surprise, princess!” The male whistles. “And here I thought you would tell me off!”

Edelgard rolls her eyes a little. “I just think it may be amusing watching you trip over your feet, trying to figure me out.”

“-- And you also want to figure me out too, don’t you?” Claude leans in, eyeing her.

She says nothing. He’ll take her silence as a yes.

The princess clears her throat. “Regardless, I believe this will be fun. Should there be a prize for whoever discovers who? To make the stakes worth risking?”

The look on her face shows utter amusement for the whole thing. She's having as much fun as he is, with this idea of trying to catch each other, to see what makes them tick, and to see what they're exactly hiding underneath their unbreakable masks. It only makes the smile on Claude’s face grow wider. A part of him wants to try and catch her off guard, just to see how she reacts.

“Oh, that would be fun.” Claude nods in agreement. “How about if I win, you marry me.”

“-- _Huh?!_ ”

A hearty laugh leaves Claude’s lips at the sight of Edelgard. Red in the face, eyes widen with her lips formed in what looks to be a confused and slightly angry pout. He’s seen her blush before, when he teased her after the Battle of Eagle and Lion, but it was nothing like this. Hunched over, the male has to try and catch his breath, though easier said than done as he keeps laughing. In return, she stomps her foot at him, like a child about to throw a fit.

“ _Claude!_ ”

“I’m joking, I’m joking!” The Riegan heir wheezes, wiping his eyes and tears threaten to fall down his cheeks. Finally he fixes his posture, his grin meeting her pout. “I’ll have to think of something, but let’s consider that a placeholder for now. Y’know, a sign that there’ll be a prize involved on our ends.”

“Y-Yes, of course.” Edelgard huffs, a pout on her face. “I will have to think of something as well. _Regardless_ …”

She sticks her hand out. A shake of agreement, Claude knows this. With the smile on his face, his hand grasps hers and they shake on it, their little game starting as soon as their hands pull away from one another. He can’t feel her warm skin underneath the white gloves she wears. A metaphor; she won’t let anyone in so easily.

He’ll see what she’s hiding beneath that mask of hers. Maybe he’ll even get to see what she hides beneath those pearly white, stainless and clean, gloves of hers.

It can’t be worse than what he hides, after all.


	2. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While tending flowers with Bernadetta, Edelgard receives a gift from Claude.
> 
> ( day 2: flowers )

**IMPERIAL YEAR, 1180**

“A-And this is the spot where I keep all of my flowers…”

“I see. How fascinating…”

As the leader of the Black Eagles class, Edelgard has been… trying. Trying to get involved in class activities and trying to get to know her classmates more than the surface level she knows them on. It was Byleth’s idea, really. They told Edelgard that she should spend some time with her classmates rather than hole herself up in the library, or training, or just in a corner with Hubert. Perhaps they had been worried that she wasn't making connections, which would certainly look bad on the outside - she was a house leader, after all, and she needed to know how to be a good leader.

And, well, Edelgard does respect her teacher. They always had good advice on hand. So, this is where Edelgard was - in the greenhouse with Bernadetta. The heir emperor knew that the poor girl was still rather afraid of her, so Edelgard was trying to be as gentle as possible - as gentle as she could with someone like Bernadetta. She seemed to be in her element here, though, as she showed the white haired girl her collection of cavernous plants. Plants with ‘teeth’-like appendages that knit around each other when a prey is caught in their mouths. According to Bernadetta’s ramblings, they only eat bugs.

Still, they are rather large. Edelgard shifts a little, trying not to get too close to them. 

You know, _just in case_.

“... They do not _eat_ people, do they?”

She needed to ask. You know, _just in case_.

“O-Oh, no! Never! Not at all!” Bernadetta quickly shook her hand, her hands flailing around. “A-And even if they did, I’d never make them eat you-- _I-I mean_ , I’m not planning on making them eat anyone! Bernie’s plants are super good and calm and _please don’t tell the professor that I’m training cavernous plants to eat people because I’m not, I swear_ \--”

“Bernadetta.”

The shut-in quickly shuts up.

Edelgard can’t help but sigh a little. So, even her presence alone causes Bernadetta to have an anxiety attack, if the paleness of her face was anything to go by. She can’t help but wonder what she’s doing wrong. Admittedly, she’s been watching Claude interact with Marianne, a girl almost like Bernadetta ( less skittish, of course ) and he seems to have been doing a much better job than she’s doing right now. Just what is she doing wrong?

“-- The acid they produce isn’t strong enough to hurt human beings, _buuut_ I wouldn’t recommend climbing inside of ones like this. You know, _just in case_.”

Jumping at the sound of a new voice in the building, Bernadetta makes a sound only a strangled cat would make and hides behind her house leader. Mauve eyes gaze towards the entrance of the greenhouse, meeting the mischievous verdant hues of Claude’s. Next to Claude is a girl with light blue hair, her gaze cast downwards as she holds a water pitcher in her hands.

Marianne.

“Um,” Bernadetta whispers to Edelgard, her knuckles turning white from gripping her leader’s uniform so tightly, “wh-which house leader is that again?”

“Claude.”

“Oh, right! He’s the one that makes poisons!” Her face pales at that and she proceeds to hide behind Edelgard once more.

Claude laughs a little. “I like to think I’m a little more well-known outside of my poisons! Right Marianne?”

“Oh,” Marianne looks up, her gaze still not meeting anyone’s, even her leader's. “Yes, you… are well known for your schemes.”

“Better than nothing.” Claude shrugs his shoulders, looking towards Edelgard. “Are you and Bernie here tending to the plants?”

“We were, Bernadetta was just showing me her collection first.” Edelgard looks at Marianne, noting the water pitcher in her hands before looking back at Bernadetta. “How about you and Marianne start without Claude and I?”

“U-Um, OK…” The shut-in cautiously steps out from behind Edelgard. 

Marianne looks over at Claude, silently asking if it was fine. The Golden Deer’s leader smiles and nods, motioning her to join Bernadetta. Edelgard steps out of the way, allowing the two girls to mingle together as she steps towards her rival house leader.

“Teach asked me to tend to the flowers and I brought Marianne along.” Claude explains as he watches his classmate and Edelgard’s classmate tend to the flowers. As expected, they're rather awkward with one another. “Figured she could use some fresh air.”

“Funny,” hums Edelgard, “the professor had asked me to join Bernadetta in the greenhouse. I wonder if they forgot that we were in here.”

_Funny, indeed._

“Actually, since you’re here…” Claude shifts a little, clearly hiding something behind his back. “Now’s the perfect time to give you my present.”

Before Edelgard can open her mouth and ask what it was, a red carnation is suddenly thrust out to her. Freshly cut and freshly bloomed from the looks of it. Mauve eyes blink, surprise at the sudden gift. It’s not the idea of getting a gift that surprises her - despite her cold nature, gifts were not uncommon to get from secret admirers who had no intention of coming out of hiding - rather…

“How did you know carnations were my favorite?”

Claude’s grin grows. “A little bird told me.”

She doesn’t ask what he means. Edelgard takes the flower from his hands, gloved fingers admiring the petals as they trace along the bright red colouring on them. The petals are soft, even under the fabric she wears over her scarred hands. She's not too sure where he found her little secret, but she’ll give him a point for now. She'll have to search harder now, to uncover one of his secrets in return.

“For what it’s worth,” starts Claude as he looks towards the other two girls, “I think you’re doing a good job.”

For a moment, confusion strikes Edelgard, until she realizes he means her interactions with her classmates. Her gaze goes towards Bernadetta and Marianne, the former showing the latter her plant collection now. Edelgard can see the smiles on their faces as they fall into a comfortable pattern with one another, gentle yet meek laughter filling the greenhouse.

It makes her smile in return. And yet, Edelgard's heart feels a twinge of pain. These happy days won't last, she knows this. They'll end when he puts her plan into motion, when she betrays their trust. Looking over towards Claude, seeing his smile brighten as soon as his eye catches hers, she almost wants to tell him the whole story, her whole story.

“We should help them out.”

But she swallows the words back in her throat, swallowing it back like a painful medicine that she wishes not to take even though she knows it'll help her heal. It's better to keep him hidden in the dark, to protect him from her bloodstained hands ( hands washed and covered with the perfectly white gloves that hides the stains of her sins, that hides the sins of her past beneath soft and unassuming cloth ). It's best to keep playing the perfect, innocent school girl - just for a little while longer. Just so she can keep spending time like this.

( with everyone else, but especially with him. )

Claude nods in agreement, taking one step forward before turning around and taking the carnation from her hand. She opens her mouth to speak, but silences herself when he puts the flower behind her ear. The flower, bright red, truly does stick out from her white hair. It adds a little more colour to it, colour that was once drained from her life barely six years ago.

“I think it looks better here,” whispers Claude. The smile on his face feels genuine, warm like the sun. It feels safe, like a cozy house in the quiet wilderness.

And Edelgard, too, can’t help but return the smile with a genuine one of her own. She almost believes him.

Gloved hands find his, as he leads her towards their classmates. Step by step, the sound of their footsteps in sync with one another. _Together_.

( the warmth of his hand is nice. how nice it would be, for him to feel her hand one day. )


	3. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the dawn of war, Claude seeks answers. What he finds is a girl willing to do anything to change the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick cw for the mentions of fodlan's racism. nothing explicit, but fodlan's distrust of outsiders does come up in the conversation.

War brinks on the edge of the world. 

Rhea is especially on the edge - she lost the goddess’ vessel; she really thought that the professor would have chosen her ( practically a work stranger ) over the student she poured all of their time and energy into. The darkness that lays inside of Dimitri is overflowing out of him, as he mutters darkly how he was going to have Edelgard’s head. Nobody really saw this coming, it seemed like.

For Claude, he can’t say he’s _too_ surprised that Edelgard was the one behind a lot of the things that happened - she made it very clear during their board games that she had a distaste for the way things were, that change needed to come whether Fodlan was ready for it or not. It’s probably what drew Claude to her in the first place. Out of everyone here, it felt like Edelgard was the only other person with eyes and ears in places that were ignored. Sometimes, it really did feel like he was the only thing that noticed things were off, that things just weren't _right_ in Fodlan - ignoring the strange people who seemed to disguise themselves at every turn, of course.

But to go to war, to work with forces that slaughter people mindlessly… Did she feel that she had no choice? No other options. Not that Claude was one to jump into war straight away, but…

Well, he felt kind of _hurt_ that she hadn’t considered him. Their late night chats, the way their hands brushed against each other whether they were picking out books to read together or on cooking duty with one another - hadn’t that meant anything to her?

The letter to speak with Edelgard is sent out. Tonight, before the battle that was on the edge of dawn, Claude will find out.

* * *

  
The sunset lays over the horizon when Edelgard makes her appearance. The meeting is on the border between the Adrestian Empire and Garreg Mach, hidden away from prying eyes. He felt sentimental about the location; two different worlds, choosing to meet up for, perhaps, the last time. He hopes it’s not for the last time; he thinks that’ll kill him.

“I’m surprised you came,” starts Claude, the silence broken by his voice.

“I’m not heartless to ignore the request of someone who is…” Edelgard trails off. Clearly she’s trying to find the appropriate term to call him, a blush blossoming across her face. “Well, either way. I wouldn’t ignore a request from _you_.”

“I’m glad.” The beating in his chest only quickens. He begrudgingly ignores it, because despite another late night escape, they’re not here to be soft with one another. “Why are you doing this, Edelgard? Why start with a war?”

A hissing sigh escapes from Edelgard’s lips. The wind is his only answer, for now, until she finally finds the courage to speak up.

“Claude, do you _really_ believe that a few pretty words can dismantle twelve-hundred years of oppression and silence?” She throws the question back at him. “You prefer to do things diplomatically. I admire that, but I know you had a plan for when that didn’t work out.”

“Oh, and what would that be, princess?”

“You were hoping to use the professor and the Sword of the Creator.” Her words are pointed. “I saw the way you eyed them and the blade. I saw the books you took out at the library, trying to find something about it. It’s not just your own relic you were after; it was the relic that could cut mountains in half.”

Now it’s Claude’s turn to be silent. He has to hand it to Edelgard; he thought that he hid that fairly well. He has to remember, though, that Edelgard can see through him, just like how he can see right through her.

“Gold star for you.” He smiles at her. “It’s true, I know that a world like Fodlan won’t be changed with just words alone. That’s why I wanted to use any power I can get my hands on to make things a little more simple for me. Just like you.”

“Just like me.” She doesn’t deny it. He likes that, he likes that she’s honest.

It makes his grin widen. “And what better way to do so than use the legendary sword that the goddess granted her power with.”

“Then you must understand why I have to do this.” Her fingers curl into a fist. “I… I have no other choice, Claude. There is a lot you still don’t know about me. I am running out of time.”

Verdant hues gaze along Edelgard’s form. They settle right on her white hair, bright like the moon above them. It’s not like Dedue’s natural white hair; hers is faded - not ugly, in fact he thinks it looks beautiful on her, but there isn’t something _right_ about it. It reminds him of Lysithea, who is weakly and sick despite her magical prowess she possesses.

_I’m running out of time._

He can feel his heart in his lungs at the implication of those words. No one says that if they know they have no future. He’ll focus on that later. Right now, he needs to ask --

“Why didn’t you come to me, then?” Claude swallows his heart back down. “You knew we were alike; why didn’t you ask me for help?”

“It’s not because of my pride if you think that,” interrupts the newly crowned Emperor. “They possess a power that not many people have. I did not know you back when I needed someone the most. And even now… I can’t let you help me.”

“Why not?!”

“ _Because your hands shouldn’t be stained with the blood I spill!_ ”

Claude's taken aback with her outburst. Another sigh hisses between Edelgard’s teeth.

“I have my guesses where you’re from,” continues the white haired girl as she gathers her composure back. “And the last thing your homeland needs is for all of Fodlan to continue to call it blasphemous. They may not know where you are from, but they know you are not from _here_. Do you think they would not try and blame you, that you corrupted me into doing this?”

He hates that she has a point. Because no one knows Edelgard is working with someone, they have no one to blame but themselves. They can’t deflect the blame; this is all Edelgard’s doing. This is all because she was unsatisfied with the way things are. The manifesto she released beforehand in order to sway as many people to her side as she could makes that perfectly airtight, including things that _only_ the Empire is aware of. There’s no way anyone from the outside can be blamed. She was protecting him by pushing him away. 

He hates it, he hates that she’s right.

“I can’t ask you to join me,” Edelgard’s soft voice pulls him out of his thoughts. “Not when you have your own dream to fulfill. Even if we become enemies…”

“Can I see you again?”

Edelgard looks up. “Huh?”

“I want to see you again,” Claude’s voice is calm and soft, almost longing. “After all of this is over. I know we’re fated to meet on the battlefield, on the opposite sides, but what about after?”

His question is, unsurprisingly, met with silence. He wouldn’t be surprised if she told him it was impossible, that such a thing could never happen because oh, they’re enemies and they could never be together - or something dramatic like in romance novels. Claude always did dream of having a dramatic romance, but he wasn’t sure if that’s what he wanted now, not when the price to pay was losing the one person he loved the most--

“You have to stay alive.”

\-- Did he hear that right? She wasn’t denying his request? She was commanding him to stay alive, for her.

“I won’t forgive you if you die on me,” hisses Edelgard, her gloved hands now gripping on his arm as a desperate plea. “Things will be worse than ever, now. Your Alliance will split in half. People will be after your head more than ever.”

She can’t protect him like she wants to, he realizes. The one thing Edelgard hates more than anything else is losing control. She may have control over _this_ situation, but she has _no_ control over his safety. She can’t exactly tell the part of Leicester Alliance who sides with her not to go after the heir of House Riegan’s head, when he’s the one thing standing in the way of her and her goal, because even though its newest heir prays to nature, House Riegan will always be devoted to the church.

What dramatic poetry their love is, he thinks.

“I’ve managed to survive this long,” rebuttals Claude nonchalantly. “I think I can survive with a Gloucester after my head.”

She barely relaxes her shoulders, but she takes the answer for now. Her hands remain on his arms, and Claude takes the chance he always wanted to take. His fingers slide up the sleeves of her arms, his fingertips grazing along the bumps of scars hidden away. He feels the indents and grooves on her skin and she doesn’t pull away.

Is this what lies beneath the gloves she wore, along with blood stained fingertips?

“You’ll change the world.” Claude finally whispers as he pulls her close to him. Her body meets his, her warmth against him. 

He knows he’ll have to pull away soon.

“ _We’ll_ change the world.” She corrects him. Her smile is full of trickery, like she's keeping a secret between each other.

And despite his alliance, despite the fact that he’ll be fighting her in due time, he likes the sound of that. He likes how together it sounds.

His lips meet hers, a promised kiss. A kiss that lets her know he won’t die on her any time soon.

( who would have guessed that the woman who stole his heart would be the change that fodlan needed? )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i finally made an open twitter for my writing ( and maybe art! ). follow @rukinyas.


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